Time is not money though this Paris sculpture certainly is both.

One thing that screws everyone up, including me, is being in too much of a hurry. We all think time is money but in fact, it’s the opposite, money is time usually but time is time and you have a set amount of it to do with what you please. You can trade it for money, give it away for free, or waste it being a pissed off grumpy asshole but you can’t actually buy time, you can only sell it.

So the lesson from that leads to my third tip for traveling the world for almost nothing.

World Travel for Almost Nothing Tip #3:

Chill out man. Just take it easy. The slower you move the less money it takes. Think about it, if you want to get a ticket to wherever you want to go today and then come back in three days, you have to pay a premium. However, if you slow it down and make it for a departure in a month and staying indefinitely…it’s cheaper. Now how about if you walk there….take a year to get there.

Sometimes when you slow down enough people will even show you what they have in their basements...

As a guy who has walked around the perimeter of Oahu, Hawaii and who hitched across Canada with $4, I can tell you that being in a hurry means you have to pay. If you are willing to take your time, you won’t. I’m currently on a slow motion trip around the world. It’s happening, but not in 80 days.

I was hoping this hot air baloon would give me a ride across Canada's plains, but no luck that time.

One of the oldest festivals in Morocco takes place right next to Hanane’s parents house. The Sefrou Cherry Festival has been around for about a hundred years. Sadly, most of the cherry trees are gone now, cleared out to build new developments and villas for rich Fassi people who want to enjoy the country life a bit.

At this point, Hanane’s families house sits surrounded by luxury developments in various states of completion and the big field that the Cherry Festival gets held in. One would be tempted to think that perhaps the Souidi fortunes have turned, but because the justice system in Morocco is hardly just (and really, where is justice to be found anywhere in the world?) and the nebulous nature of real estate law, the overwhelming power of those who have money and connections versus those who don’t, and really, the corruption that runs rampant in Morocco and you can be sure that nothing is guaranteed.

As an example, Hanane’s father just lost a court battle to save a property he and his family have owned, lived on, and improved for over 40 years. It’s another piece of property that could make him a rich man, but the judge has recently issued the order to give it to people who are already wealthy…and thus, have the ability to sway the courts more than a simple shepherd like Mr. Souidi.

He bought the land over 40 years ago when he first came to Sefrou. At that time, contracts were fairly simple deals and it was more a matter of a handshake and the exchange of cash. Everything was fine until the man he bought the property from died a few years ago. Until that time, the Souidi family lived there. All of the Souidi kids were born there. A few years ago they bought their present property and moved most of the family there leaving Mohammad and Samira on the old homestead to start the next generation with Amine and Taha.

Then when the man the property was purchased from died, his heirs started looking at the property with greedy eyes. They started legal proceedings against the Souidis and made a case that Mr. Souidi had never actually purchased the land. Never mind that they had been living on it for forty years and that in fact, he had purchased it.

You can be sure that the family who is stealing the land has all the advantages of wealth and power with at least one judge, several police officers, and some government officials in their family tree. And of course, all of this happened about the time that land in Sefrou started booming, all the cherry trees were cut down on the surrounding acrage, and the value of the property became something worth stealing.

I’ve only just found out about this family drama recently and I’m told it is too late to do anything. The judge has issued the order that the land be vacated and given to the thieves. Mr. Souidi is appealing that Mohammad and his family be given time to find another place to live, but with luxury developments going up all around the property, it is doubtful whether he will win even that, especially since he is a simple shepherd and he is fighting against a family with wealth and position.

I’ve put off getting an internet connection at home for a while since money is tight and I knew the connection would be slow, but now, I’ve gone ahead and done it. I’m connected in the Casbah.

The connection is slow. When the United States is awake, it is incredibly slow and when the U.S. sleeps it’s just sort of slow. Like a good dial up connection.

I’ve been looking at the news a lot and it’s not surprising at all. The U.S. has found new reasons to further tighten its security and thus make itself more isolationist while still embracing a ‘world U.S.’ policy. Obama continues to make change we can believe in, i.e. no real change at all with more civilians being killed during his first year in office than in Bush’s last. The economy is still struggling, the rich are still getting richer and the poor getting poorer, make note of the fact that the poor don’t usually have stocks, so the Dow industrial climbing higher isn’t the sign of prosperity it is painted as. Health insurance rather than health care will soon be forced on all Americans with those who don’t sign up being penalized. You can read that as if you don’t pay the insurance companies, you will be found and fined. Climate change is striking and energy consumption is still climbing.

Recently I’ve come to the conclusion that the upbringing of Americans makes every one of them (including me) think deep down inside that we might be the most important person in the world. Surprise, we’re not. All that ‘you could be the next Einstein, Lincoln, or Ford’ is to blame and as a result, it’s easy to see why Americans are so willing to use the bulk of the world’s resources while the rest of the world suffers. It also explains why American’s get so angry when they are cut off in traffic or argued with “Don’t you know who I am?”

In short, Americans are fucked. Most of us will never be more than just one in six billion struggling soft bodies trying to pad our next the best we can. We love superlatives ‘greatest’ ‘best’ ‘fastest’ etc but the truth is that unless we really stretch our definitions none of us really are any sort of superlative (present company included). I’m neither the best writer of my generation, the best blogger, or the best anything…and chances are neither are you. You’re just you and if it makes you feel better, you are the best you there is. The absolute greatest.

As I struggle to make my way and to clear the way for Hanane and I to get married and have children and build a life together, I am constantly asking myself why. I love her. I think we could be good parents. And, well, we’re here.

It doesn’t mean I think it’s fair to those kids though if they happen. They get a world that probably won’t be better than this old fucked up world.

So the news is not surprising. It’s boring. I want money but even if I had it, it probably wouldn’t be good for much. What, more travel? A nicer sofa? Hot water? I’ve got more than I deserve, and no doubt you do to, though I doubt you can admit it yet.

But hey, go watch Avatar and enjoy the prospect of an entire planet of fairly happy people who are missing just one thing to save their entire civilization and world, a United States Marine. Oooh-rah. Go Jarhead Clan! Go America! You can feel good about it, you need something to feel good about right? After all, you might be the most important person in the world…or maybe even in the universe.